Liberal Democrats: scrapping unfair dismissal laws would be 'madness'

Responding to the Beecroft report that claimed Britain’s “terrible” employment laws should be overhauled to help stimulate growth, Liberal Democrat MP Norman Lamb, said he thought the proposals were "madness".

The report says that British workers should be banned from claiming unfair dismissal so that firms and public sector bodies can find more capable replacements.

Under current regulations, workers are allowed to “coast along” and employers are left fearful of expanding because new staff may prove “unknown quantities” who are impossible to sack, the report says.

But Mr Lamb, chief parliamentary adviser to Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, queried: "If every single employee in the land thinks their job could be on the line, what does that do for consumer confidence? It's crazy."